Attorney-General Mark Speakman announces a $148 million package to fund more permanent judges for the District Court, with flow-on effects expected to speed up trials and create additional sittings in regional New South Wales.

A royal commission into family law should be considered if reforms currently underway do not address public concerns, outgoing Family Court Chief Justice John Pascoe tells a conference in Brisbane as protesters called for better protections for families and children.

Justice Stephen Thackray argues Australians should be wary of the Federal Government’s plan for reforming the family law system, arguing it has been dreamt up by accountants and not the people who work in the sector.

The Family Court and Federal Circuit Court will be combined as part of a raft of changes to the financially and emotionally crippling family law system, in an announcement by the Attorney-General Christian Porter today.